Tracking The Movement of Ocean Trash

Greg Shirah and Horace Mitchell at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Scientific Visualization Studio, which creates visualizations to improve the research community’s understanding of NASA’s research, have created a series of time lapse visualizations designed to illustrate how garbage flows throughout the oceans. Shirah and Mitchell first mapped location data from floating research buoys that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been releasing and tracking for the past 35 years. Then, by incorporating thousands of simulated particles and a computational model of ocean currents, the visualizations show how ocean trash eventually migrates to five distinct “garbage patches” around the world.

Joshua New is a senior policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation. He has a background in government affairs, policy, and communication. Prior to joining the Center for Data Innovation, Joshua graduated from American University with degrees in C.L.E.G. (Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government) and Public Communication. His research focuses on methods of promoting innovative and emerging technologies as a means of improving the economy and quality of life. Follow Joshua on Twitter @Josh_A_New.